Perkins Oil Engine Fitted in a Farm Tractor
Page 21
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Fuel Costs, in an Interesting Conversion, Work out at is. per Acre. Advantages of Oil Fuel over Paraffin
MITE accompanying ilrustrations are J. of a Ford (Ferguson system) tractor in which an oil engine has been fitted in place of the standard paraffin unit. _ This interesting conversion, which we are informed has been most successful, was carried Out with a Perkins P4 engine, a product of F. Perkins, Ltd., Peterborough.
Its four cylinders have a total capacity of 192.4 cubic ins, with a Treasury rating of 19.6 h.p. It develops 30 b.h.p. at .1,500lp.m. As to the relative sixes of this unit and the one it displaced, the oiler compares favourably with the paraffin engine of, 120 cubit ins. displacement.
The tractor is owned by Mr. Frank Perkins, Alwalton Hall, Alwalton, Huntingdonshire, and some. of the results obtained, following the conversion; are of interest. Fuel consumption was found to average 1 gallon of oil fuel, costing approximately Is. per gallon, per acre of ploughing, the furrow depth being 9 ins. The P4 engine gave ample power for three furrows of this depth under a variety of conditions. No difficulty was found in 'starting, even during the winter.
A noteworthy feature of the installation is its simplicity. The engine, which, with the tractor, forms part of the frame, takes up the existing solid mountings. The housing has been designed to couple the engine with the existing gearbox.
Despite the solid mounting on the tractor frame, the engine idles without any appreciable trace of vibration at a speed as low as 200 r.p.m., the figure at which it is set to idle.
There are certain basic advantages attendant upon using an oil engine for this service, such as the high torque at low speeds, to say nothing of the economy in fuel, There is no question of cylinder wear as the result of fuel condensing on the cylinder walls, or of the inconvenience of a smoky exhaust, such as happens when idling with a paraffin engine under
cold-weather conditions. It obviates the necessity of running the engine'when the tractor is stationary, a customary practice when using paraffin,
in order to prevent the plugs oiling up. The fuel as used in a compressionignition engine is much safer as, of course, there is no need to carry petrol for starting, as in the case of a paraffin unit.
The advantages, as mentioned, are of great value to farmers, and there is no doubt that the experiments being carried out by Mr. Perkins with this machine, and the ingenious idea of the cab, will be watched with interest by farmers generally.
• To-day, the agricultural industry is fully aware a the necessity of mechaniation„ and, as a consequence, is keen to take advantage of any engineering development which will make for a maintenance of, or an increase in, efficiency, with a lower cost for operation.
We understand that this is the first time that a four-cylindered oil engine has been fitted into such a small tractor as the Ford, although, pre-war, a larger Perkins oil engine was used in considerable numbers overseas, in Fordson tractors as made in this country.
A point of additional interest in the tractor under review is that Mr. Perkins has provided it with a steel cab, so designed that, whilst it affords useful protection for the driver, it does not prevent him from obtaining an unobstructed view of his work. The cab can be completely removed by one man in two minutes.